Sharks not good enough, trail
2-0Nabokov continues to struggle in 4-2
loss

5/18/10 - By Mike Lee -

The bell may have tolled on the Sharks season on
Tuesday night. Only two games into the Western Conference Finals, San Jose had
little answer for a faster Chicago Blackhawks team that capitalized on most of
their chances. Poor goaltending continued to cost the Sharks, who allowed
Chicago to take a two-game lead with a 4-2 win at HP Pavilion. Evgeni Nabokov
allowed he Blackhawks to jump out to an early lead on a weak goal, then
couldnt make the big saves when it counted.

San Jose came out
with plenty of energy and got pucks on net early, but when Chicago scored the
games first goal, it took the life out of the bench and the arena. They
would fail to respond and score the equalizer, which allowed the Blackhawks to
build on their lead.

Obviously our execution has to be better. Up
until they scored, we handled the puck well," siad Sharks head coach Todd
McLellan. "We carried the puck well in the neutral zone against a very good
team. And then that goal took a lot out of us for some reason. Its
disappointing because we have had that resiliency and it took us a while to get
that energy level back up where it needed to be.

Niemi picked up
where he left off in Game 1 with a huge save 6 minutes into the game, stoning
Devin Setoguchi with a pad save on a point-blank shot. The Sharks were buzzing
in the Blackhawks zone when Logan Couture sent in a shot from the left corner.
Niemi deflected the puck to the top of the crease where Setoguchi was parked.

Heatley followed it up with a shot from the slot a minute later that
was turned aside by Niemi.

San Jose looked as if they would create a
nice scoring chance when Patrick Marleau checked defenseman Brent Seabrook off
the puck at the Sharks blueline. The Sharks appeared to be headed to a 2-on-0
break, but Seabrook regained his feet and got back to the puck.

Chicago would turn around and gain the zone, which allowed Andrew Ladd to
uncork a 45-foot shot that beat Evgeni Nabokov for the early 1-0 Chicago lead.
Nabokov was cheating to his right and was partially screened by his own
defenseman, but he waved at it with his glove and missed.

We
havent had an opportunity to score very many (first goals of the game),"
added McLellan. "Going into their building, we saw what the first goal did to
our hockey club tonight. It took some of the energy out of the building; it
took a lot of energy out of our team and it took us a while to get our heads up
again.

San Jose would have difficulties even getting the puck in
the Chicago zone early in the middle period. The Blackhawks would continue to
use their team speed to keep the San Jose offense from getting the puck
anywhere near Niemi.

I thought we withstood another barrage in
the first ten minutes," said Blackhawks head coach Joel Quennevillle. "Antti
was rock solid again. They crashed the net well and he preserved the second
opportunities for us. I think scoring first certainly helped us to finish the
period on a better note.

They would wait out San Jose , then
strike at 6:59 of the period on a deflection by Dustin Byfuglien. Patrick Kane
would circle out to the high slot, before throwing a puck on net, where
Byfuglien was parked. The Blackhawks forward simply tipped the puck past
Nabokov.

Chicago baited the Sharks into taking a penalty 40 seconds
later by stabbing a puck under Nabokov following a stoppage. Douglas Murray
would take exception and draw a roughing penalty.

The Blackhawks would make the Sharks pay for
Murrays indiscretion a minute into the ensuing power play. Much like
Byfugliens goal theBlackhawks converted on another deflection by putting
bodies in front of the net. Chicago captain Jonathan Toews chipped the puck to
Nabokovs right for the 3-0 lead.

The Sharks would get their
first crack on the power play at 10:06, when centerman Dave Bolland was called
for holding. Patrick Marleau would snap a cross ice pass from Joe
Thornton past Niemi from the right circle.

San Jose would turn up the
heat to close out the period, but nothing challenged Niemi, allowing the
Blackhawks to take a two-goal lead into the 2nd intermission.

Niemi
had a little luck on his side to start the 3rd period. Sharks defenseman Rob
Blake threw a puck on net from the right point, hitting Seabrook in the hand
and deflecting it toward the Blackhawks net. The puck would hit just under the
knob of Niemis stick, chipping it safely away from his goal.

As
has been the case all series, the failure by the Sharks to capitalize on their
opportunities would be immediately followed by a Chicago goal. Niklas
Hjalmarsson would step into a dump pass by Marion Hossa and beat Nabokov at
6:18. It was another case of Nabokov missing on a long shot. Hossa created the
chance by picking Murray's pocket in the left corner, before sliding the pass
to Hjalmarsson near the blueline.

"I didn't think we gave them too much
to be honest with you," said Thornton. "We played good defensive hockey. We're
just not capitalizing on our chances. They with theirs and we're not with
ours."

Thornton would put the Blackhawks on the power play with a
ridiculous slashing penalty. The centerman slashed Bolland while the two were
lined up for a faceoff, before the puck was even dropped.

Marleau
would score his second goal of the night with 4:28 to play on a deflection in
front of Niemi. Dany Heatley created the opportunity by driving to the net on a
delayed penalty call and jamming a shot on net. Niemi would make the save, but
it landed in the crease where Marleau stabbed at it from the weak side.

Rob Blake would take a holding penalty with 2:06 left in regulation to
ice the game.

Weve been pretty consistent on the road,"
said Quenneville. "I like our approach and I think our focus is in the right
area. The guys are sticking together off the ice and they come prepared for
games and playing a simpler game than weve probably seen at home. I think
we want to make sure that we duplicate the way weve played here on the
road and we think thats the recipe for being successful.

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